ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTING
Reader 1 - Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of
Hope.
Reader 2 - Our hope is in God, and in
Jesus the Christ, the one appointed by God to be the messiah. He is the one
through whom God has promised to save and redeem his people.
Reader 1 - We light this candle today to remind us that Jesus is
our hope and the hope of the world.
Reader 2 - We thank God for the saving promises made to us and
for the light Christ has brought into the world.
(Light the First Candle)
Reader 1 - Let us pray:
ALL: O God of Hope, Emmanuel, God with
Us -- we pray you to send your light into our hearts. Help us to be ready for
the day and the hour of Christ's appearing. Live in us and help us to live in
you. By the power of the Holy Spirit, touch us. Transform us so that our
worship, our celebration, our time of preparation, may be pleasing unto you -
both now - and forevermore. Amen.
#7 Hope Is a Star-Verse 1
We Hear God’s Word
First
Reading: Jeremiah
33:14-16
The days are coming when I shall fulfill the promise
that I made in favour of Israel
and Judah.
In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout
the shoot of righteousness from David's line; that one will practice justice
and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah
will experience salvation and Jerusalem
will live in safety. God will be called Yahweh-Our-Righteousness."
L: A Reading
from Holy Scripture. P: Thanks Be to
God!
Second Reading:
Luke 1:46-55
46And Mary
said,
I'm bursting with God-news;
47I'm dancing the song of my Saviour God.
48God took one good look at me, and look what happened--
I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
49the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all
others.
50God’s mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before God.
51God bared an arm and showed great strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
52God
knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
53The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
54God embraced the chosen child, Israel;
and remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
55It's exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
L: The Gospel of Christ! P: Praise Be to God!
Ministry of Music
Meditation:
Song of Commitment: #9 People Look East *Rise in Body and Spirit - as you feel able*
We Respond to God
Sacrament of Baptism
Presentation of our Tithes and Offerings
(A Second offering will be received today to support
our emergency Aid ministry)
Sung Prayer of Dedication: #58 Infant Holy Infant
Lowly (Verse 1)
Prayers of the People
We Commune Together
Communion Liturgy:
L:
God be with you
P: And also with you
L: Lift up your hearts
P: We lift them to God.
L: Let us give thanks to our God.
P: It is right to give our thanks and praise
L: We give thanks that at the dawn of history, you, O
God, formed our forebears and breathed into them the breath of life. When they
forgot about you and turned away, you did not turn away from them, your love
remained constant.
P: You delivered them from
captivity and led them through the wilderness, providing food to eat and water
to drink. Your Spirit came upon prophets and empowered them to speak your word
of justice and righteousness. They pointed to the coming of one who would be a
sign of your dominion on earth.
L: And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise
your name and join their unending hymn saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power
and might heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna
in the Highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the
name of our God,
Hosanna in the Highest Hosanna in the Highest.
L: We thank you, Holy God that
in the time of our dreams your care for us was sealed in the rainbowed promise of
hope - of the sun, after storm; of life, after death, of yourself, revealed in
human form - in Jesus Christ.
P: We wait for the promised One.
L: The One whom your Spirit
anointed to proclaim justice to all peoples, good news to the poor, release for
the captives, sight for the blind, liberty for the oppressed, and to announce
that the time had come when you would save your people.
P: We wait for the promised One.
L: On the night he gave
himself up for us he took bread, gave you thanks, broke it, gave it to his
disciples, and said,
P:
"Take, eat. This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
L: In the same way he took the cup, saying,
P: "This cup is the new covenant sealed in my
blood, poured out for you and for all, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in
remembrance of me."
L: And so, in remembrance of
these mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we take this bread and this cup and give you praise and thanksgiving as
together we proclaim the mystery of our faith
Christ has died,
Alleluia,
Christ is risen, Alleluia,
Christ will come again, Alleluia, Alleluia.
P: May your Spirit, O God, breathe upon these gifts of
bread and wine that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ. His life in us. For this we give you thanks, in Jesus name,
and we pray as he
taught saying...
Our Creator...
Hymns during
Communion:
# 46 Gentle Mary
Laid Her Child
# 35 Good Christian Friends Rejoice
Silent Prayer of
Thanksgiving
Prayer Following
Communion: Sung chorus:
#60 O Come All Ye Faithful
*Rise in Body and Spirit - as you feel able*
O come let
us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!
We Go Forth to Live with Christ
The Blessing and Sending Forth:
L: May the urgent voice of God's
messenger pierce our hardened hearts and announce the advent of the One
who is our Hope.
P: Let our complacency give way to conversion, oppression
to justice, and conflict to peace with one another in Christ.
ALL: And now, may the God of hope fill us with all joy
and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in
hope, and proclaim it throughout the earth. Amen.
Song for Going Forth # 2 Come thou Long Expected Jesus *Rise in Body
and Spirit - as you feel able*
Passing the Peace
(Please feel free to shake hands, or offer hugs as you
feel comfortable, offering the words:
“The Peace of Christ!”)
Announcements
Greetings to all who are worshipping with us this
today
We welcome you to our congregation and hope that you
are blessed by your experience of worship.
We invite you to join us following the service for a time of
refreshments and conversation.
Our congratulations to Braiden Clarke Hall and his parents Joe, Karen and Susan on
the occasion of his baptism.
Small Group meets Friday evenings at 6:45pm at the
home of Rob Pierce for more information please call the church office at 453-9249
Next Sunday you are
invited to share a special offering to help Manna for Health with their
Christmas hampers.
Events in December:
Our Annual Community
Christmas Dinner will be held on Dec. 16,
6pm at St. John’s
United Church.
Please invite your family and friends and join us for an evening of great food
and entertainment. There are still
opportunities to help out too. Check out
the sign up board following worship.
We will be offering an
Advent Bible Study over the course of the next three weeks. Please join us on Tuesday Dec, 5, 12, 19 at 7pm at the church as we explore Christmas through the
eyes of Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds.
All are welcome. Please bring a Bible if you have one.
A Special “Blue Christmas Service” will be
held on Wednesday
Dec.13, 7pm.
Christmas is a time for memories and remembering. For some, the memories
are of their loved ones who have died, and the pain of their loss is real. For
others the memories are of happier times than we know now, as the anguish of
broken relationships or relocation and poor health cloud this season. We need
to remember, and we need the space and place to acknowledge our sadness and
concern; and we need to know we are not alone.
Join us for a service that reaffirms God’s presence with us through all.
Our Annual Memorial Christmas Light Campaign is
now under way. You are invited to remember loved ones and significant events in
your life by sharing special Christmas lights that will be set aglow at worship on Dec. 17 and will
also shine during our Christmas Eve service. We are asking for a $10 donation
per light to help raise funds for our general operating fund for the congregation. Please take a moment to fill in the enclosed
form. We thank you for sharing
your gift with Safe Harbour this Christmas Season.
Join us for Worship at 11am and 7pm next Sunday. The Rev. Elaine Walcot
of Koininia
Baptist Church
will be the gu